Brief history of the Chair of General Physics and Wave Processes
of Moscow State University

The Chair of General Physics and Wave Processes
(GPWP), in its present form, exists since 1978,
when it was formed as a result of re-organization of
two chairs in Radio Physics Division at the Physics
Department of Moscow State University: the Chair of
Wave Processes and the Chair of General Physics for
the Mechanics and Mathematics Department.

The Chair of General Physics for the Mechanics and
Mathematics Department was created in 1955. Until
1974, this chair was headed by ProfessorSergei
Pavlovich Strelkov (1905 - 1974), the well-known
scientist and lecturer, the founder of the scientific
school of physics of vibrations in distributed systems.
Professor Strelkov was the author of several monographs
and textbooks, including the classical university textbook
"Mechanics." The pedagogical activity of this chair
was based on teaching- physics at the Mechanics and
Mathematics Department and later also at the Department
of Computing Mathematics and Cybernetics. The research
activity was mainly focused on the physics of vibrational
processes, statistical physics and thermo-dynamics,
as well as statistical radio physics and mathematical
biophysics.

The Chair of Wave Processes was created in 1965
by Rem Viktorovich Khokhlov (1926 - 1977) and Sergei Aleksandrovich Akhmanov (1929 - 1991),
prominent professors of Moscow State University and
pioneers of nonlinear optics. Professors Khokhlov and
Akhmanov were the authors of fundamental theoretical
and experimental studies in this new area of physics.
They were the first to propose and theoretically substantiate
the concept of parametric oscillators and amplifiers
(1962). In 1964, they published the first monograph
in nonlinear optics entitled "The Problems of Nonlinear
Optics." For their outstanding, worldwide-recognized
contribution to the development of nonlinear optics,
R.V. Khokhlov and S.A. Akhmanov were awarded the Lomonosov
(1964) and Lenin (1970) Prizes.

The method for the simplification of wave equations,
developed by R.V. Khokhlov in 1960 - 1961, has opened
a new phase in the development of the physics of wave
processes. He was the author of several pioneering proposals
in selective laser photochemistry, creation of gamma
lasers, and thermonuclear isotope synthesis. For his
fundamental research in nonlinear acoustics, R.V. Khokhlov
was awarded the State Prize. In 1966, R.V. Khokhlov
was elected the correspondent member and in 1974, the
member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. R.V. Khokhlov's
duties included such high positions as the Rector of
Moscow State University (1973 - 1977), Vice-President
of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and Vice-President
of the International Association of Universities.

S.A. Akhmanov's name is linked to the pioneering research
in statistical nonlinear optics, nonstationary optical
phenomena, the physics of femtosecond pulses, nonlinear
spectroscopy, and many others.

In 1962, R.V. Khokhlov and S.A. Akhmanov founded the
first Soviet laboratory of nonlinear optics - the area
of physics which was just born then (1961). This laboratory
was open as a part of the Physics Department of Moscow
State University. Very soon, prominent results obtained
in the theory of nonlinear interactions of electromagnetic
waves and pioneering experiments on nonlinear laser
frequency conversion brought a worldwide recognition
to this lab. As a logical continuation of this activity,
the Chair of Wave Processes was organized on the basis
of this laboratory in 1965. Headed by Professor R.V.
Khokhlov, this chair became one of the leading centers
of research in nonlinear optics, nonlinear acoustics,
laser physics, and nonlinear spectroscopy, as well as
the center for the education of highly qualified experts
in these areas of research.

In 1974, Professor S.A. Akhmanov left the Chair of Wave
Processes, along with a group of researchers and lecturers,
to become the Head of the Chair of General Physics for
the Mechanics and Mathematics Department. This time
witnessed the renewal and the expansion of the research
conducted at this chair, with the main emphasis being
shifted toward nonlinear optics, laser physics, applications
of lasers in biophysics, etc. At the moment of re-organization
in 1978, these two chairs - the Chair of Wave Processes
and the Chair of General Physics for the Mechanics and
Mathematics Department - were closely linked, with the
considerable part of the staff of both chairs being
formed by the followers of the Khokhlov-Akhmanov scientific
school.

The necessity of re-organizing these chairs was caused
by the tragic death of R.V. Khokhlov in August of 1977
(in a mountain-climbing accident). In 1978, Professor
S.A. Akhmanov took over as the Head of the united Chair
of General Physics and Wave Processes and held this
position until his untimely passing in 1991. The GPWP
Chair became one of the largest chairs at Physics Department
during that period of time. A group of scientists from
the former Chair of General Processes formed a new chair
in the Radio Physics Division - the Chair of Quantum
Radio Physics (presently the Chair of Quantum Electronics).
Both of these chairs are now located in the Building
of Nonlinear Optics, which was constructed in 1980 in
accordance with R.V. Khokhlov plans.

In 1992 - 1998, the GPWP Chair was headed by Professor
Nikolai Ivanovich Koroteev (1947 - 1998), the follower
of S.A. Akhmanov, Lomonosov Prize Winner, a prominent
expert in nonlinear spectroscopy and the action of high-intensity
laser radiation on matter. Professor N.I. Koroteev guided
the chair through difficult times of changing epochs
in this country, contributing greatly to the development
of scientific ideas of R.V. Khokhlov and S.A. Akhmanov,
initiating many research projects in new areas of nonlinear
optics and spectroscopy, and increasing the research
and teaching potential of the GPWP Chair, in fact, building
the GPWP Chair in its present-day form. Holding simultaneously
the position of a Vice-Rector of Moscow State University,
N.I. Koroteev promoted international relations and gave
a new impulse to the international cooperation of the
GPWP Chair and Moscow University.

Since 1999, the GPWP Chair is headed by Professor
V.A. Makarov. Diversified teaching activities of
the GPWP Chair are supplemented by intense research.
In particular, the involvement in original research
is one of the main principles of student education here.

The GPWP Chair is tightly integrated with the International
Education and Research Laser Center (ILC) of Moscow
State University. The organization of this center was
initiated by S.A. Akhmanov. Professor N.I. Koroteev
was the first ILC director, holding this post and remaining
the main driving force behind all the ILC activities
until his tragic death in 1998. In 1998 - 2000, the
ILC was headed by Professor V.V. Shuvalov. In 2000,
Professor V.A. Makarov took over as the ILC director.
Organizationally and structurally, the ILC is a division
of Moscow State University. The activity of this center
is based on the international cooperation in research.
Experts and lecturers from Russian and abroad are involved
in the ILC teaching activities and organization of scientific
meetings and conferences.

The international, interinstitution, and interdepartment
activities of the ILC are mainly aimed at coordinating
large-scale programs and projects predominantly of interdisciplinary
character in laser physics, chemistry, biology, medicine,
and laser technologies, as well as coherent and nonlinear
optics and their applications. Cooperation in these
areas within Moscow University mainly involves the chairs
of Physics Department, the Chair of Laser Chemistry
of Chemistry Department (including the Laboratory of
Laser Diagnostics, the Laboratory of Laser Spectroscopy,
and the Laboratory of Laser Synthesis), and the Department
of Basic Medicine (the specialized course "Laser Biomedicine
and Biomedical Optics" has been developed and now being
delivered to the students of this department). In 1990,
Professor S.A. Akhmanov initiated the organization of
the Laser Graduate School. The sessions of this school
are now being organized annually, and they include lecture
courses on the most urgent problems of laser physics.
Top scientists from leading research centers all over
the world are delivering lectures during these sessions
for students, post-graduate students, and young researchers
of the GPWP Chair, the ILC, and other universities,
institutes, and research centers in Russian and other
countries. The 2001 Laser Graduate School Session was
held on June 27 - 30, 2001, and was dedicated to the
75th anniversary of R.V. Khokhlov.
More than 30 monographs, as well as numerous textbooks
were written by the researchers and lecturers working
at the GPWP Chair. In particular, textbooks on physics
written by B.B. Bukhovtsev and G.Ya. Myakishev, Associate
Professors of the GPWP Chair, have long been used as
basis school textbooks in our country and have been
published in several European countries. In 1998, the
Russian edition of the "Physical Optics" textbook by
S.A. Akhmanov and S.Yu. Nikitin, originally published
in the UK (Oxford, 1997), has seen the light of day.

Since 1965, the Chair of Wave Processes and then the
GPWP Chair along with the ILC (starting with the year
of its foundation in 1990) have been the basis institutions
for the organization of International Conferences on
Coherent and Nonlinear Optics (ICONO), International
Conferences on Laser Applications in Life Sciences (LALS),
and several other worldwide-recognized large-scale international
conferences, symposia, and workshops.

Starting with 1997, the GPWP Chair is an associate
member of the "Basic Optics and Spectroscopy" Education
and Research Center, founded within the framework of
the Federal Program of Science and Education Integration.
Several leading research and education centers in Russia
and CIS are among permanent partners of the GPWP Chair
and the ILC. These institutions and centers include
the Institute of Laser Physics, Siberian Division, Russian
Academy of Sciences; Russian Center of Laser Physics,
St. Petersburg University; Institute of Advanced Laser
and Information Technologies, Russian Academy of Sciences;
General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences;
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of
Sciences; Center of Photochemistry, Russian Academy
of Sciences; N.G. Chernyshevsky Saratov State University;
Institute of Physics and Institute of Molecular and
Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Many leading universities and research centers in various
countries are also among the long-term partners of the
GPWP Chair and the ILC. Those include Princeton University,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Dayton University,
Pennsylvania University, US Army Research Laboratory,
SINEMED Inc. (USA); Essen, Wurzburg, Berlin, and Bonn
Universities, as well as Max Planck Institute for Quantum
Optics and Berlin Center for Laser Medicine (Germany);
International Laser Center in Bratislava and Comensky
University (Slovak Republic); Palermo, Pisa, Milan,
Bari, and Turin Universities, "La Sapienza" University
in Rome, ENEA and IROE Research Centers, Istituto Nazionale
di Ottica, and the International Center for Theoretical
Physics in Trieste (Italy); Toronto University and Laval
University (Canada); Universities of Bath and Southampton
and Imperial College (UK); Bordeaux and Dunkerque Universities
(France); Waseda University and the National Laboratory
of Mechanics (Japan); Yonsay University (Republic of
Korea); University of Twente (the Netherlands); and
many others.

The following prominent scientists and outstanding
personalities were with the GPWP Chair in the previous
years: ·Professor R.L. Stratonovich (1931 - 1997), the
worldwide-recognized scientist, Lomonosov and State
Prize winner, the founder of statistical radio physics
and quantum theory of information, the author of pioneering
works on nonequilibrium thermodynamics, who developed
stochastic methods in classical and quantum statistical
physics and the theory of measurements; · Professor V.S. Fursov (1915 - 1998), one of the
leading researchers involved in the Kurchatov project,
the winner of three State Prizes, the Dean of the Physics
Department of Moscow State University in 1956 - 1989;
· Associate Professor A.I. Kovrigin (1936 - 1996),
the author of many pioneering experiments on nonlinear
optics, who created the first parametric oscillator
generating picosecond pulses, the State Prize winner.

The following Physics Department senior staff members
stemmed from the Chair of General Physics and Wave Processes: O.V. Rudenko, Correspondent Member of the Russian
Academy of Sciences; A.P. Sukhorukov, Professor; V.A. Aleshkevich, Professor; V.E. Kunitsyn,
Professor. The teaching and research staff of the Chair
of General Physics and Wave Processes now includes highly
qualified and widely recognized experts, as well as
bright personalities. More than 60 Doctors and Candidates (PhD) of Sciences are among the staff
members of this chair.

More than 30 PhD students are taking their courses
and making their' research at the GPWP Chair.

Brief history of the Chair of General Physics and Wave Processes
of Moscow State University

The Chair of General Physics and Wave Processes
(GPWP), in its present form, exists since 1978,
when it was formed as a result of re-organization of
two chairs in Radio Physics Division at the Physics
Department of Moscow State University: the Chair of
Wave Processes and the Chair of General Physics for
the Mechanics and Mathematics Department.

The Chair of General Physics for the Mechanics and
Mathematics Department was created in 1955. Until
1974, this chair was headed by ProfessorSergei
Pavlovich Strelkov (1905 - 1974), the well-known
scientist and lecturer, the founder of the scientific
school of physics of vibrations in distributed systems.
Professor Strelkov was the author of several monographs
and textbooks, including the classical university textbook
"Mechanics." The pedagogical activity of this chair
was based on teaching- physics at the Mechanics and
Mathematics Department and later also at the Department
of Computing Mathematics and Cybernetics. The research
activity was mainly focused on the physics of vibrational
processes, statistical physics and thermo-dynamics,
as well as statistical radio physics and mathematical
biophysics.

The Chair of Wave Processes was created in 1965
by Rem Viktorovich Khokhlov (1926 - 1977) and Sergei Aleksandrovich Akhmanov (1929 - 1991),
prominent professors of Moscow State University and
pioneers of nonlinear optics. Professors Khokhlov and
Akhmanov were the authors of fundamental theoretical
and experimental studies in this new area of physics.
They were the first to propose and theoretically substantiate
the concept of parametric oscillators and amplifiers
(1962). In 1964, they published the first monograph
in nonlinear optics entitled "The Problems of Nonlinear
Optics." For their outstanding, worldwide-recognized
contribution to the development of nonlinear optics,
R.V. Khokhlov and S.A. Akhmanov were awarded the Lomonosov
(1964) and Lenin (1970) Prizes.

The method for the simplification of wave equations,
developed by R.V. Khokhlov in 1960 - 1961, has opened
a new phase in the development of the physics of wave
processes. He was the author of several pioneering proposals
in selective laser photochemistry, creation of gamma
lasers, and thermonuclear isotope synthesis. For his
fundamental research in nonlinear acoustics, R.V. Khokhlov
was awarded the State Prize. In 1966, R.V. Khokhlov
was elected the correspondent member and in 1974, the
member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. R.V. Khokhlov's
duties included such high positions as the Rector of
Moscow State University (1973 - 1977), Vice-President
of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and Vice-President
of the International Association of Universities.

S.A. Akhmanov's name is linked to the pioneering research
in statistical nonlinear optics, nonstationary optical
phenomena, the physics of femtosecond pulses, nonlinear
spectroscopy, and many others.

In 1962, R.V. Khokhlov and S.A. Akhmanov founded the
first Soviet laboratory of nonlinear optics - the area
of physics which was just born then (1961). This laboratory
was open as a part of the Physics Department of Moscow
State University. Very soon, prominent results obtained
in the theory of nonlinear interactions of electromagnetic
waves and pioneering experiments on nonlinear laser
frequency conversion brought a worldwide recognition
to this lab. As a logical continuation of this activity,
the Chair of Wave Processes was organized on the basis
of this laboratory in 1965. Headed by Professor R.V.
Khokhlov, this chair became one of the leading centers
of research in nonlinear optics, nonlinear acoustics,
laser physics, and nonlinear spectroscopy, as well as
the center for the education of highly qualified experts
in these areas of research.

In 1974, Professor S.A. Akhmanov left the Chair of Wave
Processes, along with a group of researchers and lecturers,
to become the Head of the Chair of General Physics for
the Mechanics and Mathematics Department. This time
witnessed the renewal and the expansion of the research
conducted at this chair, with the main emphasis being
shifted toward nonlinear optics, laser physics, applications
of lasers in biophysics, etc. At the moment of re-organization
in 1978, these two chairs - the Chair of Wave Processes
and the Chair of General Physics for the Mechanics and
Mathematics Department - were closely linked, with the
considerable part of the staff of both chairs being
formed by the followers of the Khokhlov-Akhmanov scientific
school.

The necessity of re-organizing these chairs was caused
by the tragic death of R.V. Khokhlov in August of 1977
(in a mountain-climbing accident). In 1978, Professor
S.A. Akhmanov took over as the Head of the united Chair
of General Physics and Wave Processes and held this
position until his untimely passing in 1991. The GPWP
Chair became one of the largest chairs at Physics Department
during that period of time. A group of scientists from
the former Chair of General Processes formed a new chair
in the Radio Physics Division - the Chair of Quantum
Radio Physics (presently the Chair of Quantum Electronics).
Both of these chairs are now located in the Building
of Nonlinear Optics, which was constructed in 1980 in
accordance with R.V. Khokhlov plans.

In 1992 - 1998, the GPWP Chair was headed by Professor
Nikolai Ivanovich Koroteev (1947 - 1998), the follower
of S.A. Akhmanov, Lomonosov Prize Winner, a prominent
expert in nonlinear spectroscopy and the action of high-intensity
laser radiation on matter. Professor N.I. Koroteev guided
the chair through difficult times of changing epochs
in this country, contributing greatly to the development
of scientific ideas of R.V. Khokhlov and S.A. Akhmanov,
initiating many research projects in new areas of nonlinear
optics and spectroscopy, and increasing the research
and teaching potential of the GPWP Chair, in fact, building
the GPWP Chair in its present-day form. Holding simultaneously
the position of a Vice-Rector of Moscow State University,
N.I. Koroteev promoted international relations and gave
a new impulse to the international cooperation of the
GPWP Chair and Moscow University.

Since 1999, the GPWP Chair is headed by Professor
V.A. Makarov. Diversified teaching activities of
the GPWP Chair are supplemented by intense research.
In particular, the involvement in original research
is one of the main principles of student education here.

The GPWP Chair is tightly integrated with the International
Education and Research Laser Center (ILC) of Moscow
State University. The organization of this center was
initiated by S.A. Akhmanov. Professor N.I. Koroteev
was the first ILC director, holding this post and remaining
the main driving force behind all the ILC activities
until his tragic death in 1998. In 1998 - 2000, the
ILC was headed by Professor V.V. Shuvalov. In 2000,
Professor V.A. Makarov took over as the ILC director.
Organizationally and structurally, the ILC is a division
of Moscow State University. The activity of this center
is based on the international cooperation in research.
Experts and lecturers from Russian and abroad are involved
in the ILC teaching activities and organization of scientific
meetings and conferences.

The international, interinstitution, and interdepartment
activities of the ILC are mainly aimed at coordinating
large-scale programs and projects predominantly of interdisciplinary
character in laser physics, chemistry, biology, medicine,
and laser technologies, as well as coherent and nonlinear
optics and their applications. Cooperation in these
areas within Moscow University mainly involves the chairs
of Physics Department, the Chair of Laser Chemistry
of Chemistry Department (including the Laboratory of
Laser Diagnostics, the Laboratory of Laser Spectroscopy,
and the Laboratory of Laser Synthesis), and the Department
of Basic Medicine (the specialized course "Laser Biomedicine
and Biomedical Optics" has been developed and now being
delivered to the students of this department). In 1990,
Professor S.A. Akhmanov initiated the organization of
the Laser Graduate School. The sessions of this school
are now being organized annually, and they include lecture
courses on the most urgent problems of laser physics.
Top scientists from leading research centers all over
the world are delivering lectures during these sessions
for students, post-graduate students, and young researchers
of the GPWP Chair, the ILC, and other universities,
institutes, and research centers in Russian and other
countries. The 2001 Laser Graduate School Session was
held on June 27 - 30, 2001, and was dedicated to the
75th anniversary of R.V. Khokhlov.
More than 30 monographs, as well as numerous textbooks
were written by the researchers and lecturers working
at the GPWP Chair. In particular, textbooks on physics
written by B.B. Bukhovtsev and G.Ya. Myakishev, Associate
Professors of the GPWP Chair, have long been used as
basis school textbooks in our country and have been
published in several European countries. In 1998, the
Russian edition of the "Physical Optics" textbook by
S.A. Akhmanov and S.Yu. Nikitin, originally published
in the UK (Oxford, 1997), has seen the light of day.

Since 1965, the Chair of Wave Processes and then the
GPWP Chair along with the ILC (starting with the year
of its foundation in 1990) have been the basis institutions
for the organization of International Conferences on
Coherent and Nonlinear Optics (ICONO), International
Conferences on Laser Applications in Life Sciences (LALS),
and several other worldwide-recognized large-scale international
conferences, symposia, and workshops.

Starting with 1997, the GPWP Chair is an associate
member of the "Basic Optics and Spectroscopy" Education
and Research Center, founded within the framework of
the Federal Program of Science and Education Integration.
Several leading research and education centers in Russia
and CIS are among permanent partners of the GPWP Chair
and the ILC. These institutions and centers include
the Institute of Laser Physics, Siberian Division, Russian
Academy of Sciences; Russian Center of Laser Physics,
St. Petersburg University; Institute of Advanced Laser
and Information Technologies, Russian Academy of Sciences;
General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences;
P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of
Sciences; Center of Photochemistry, Russian Academy
of Sciences; N.G. Chernyshevsky Saratov State University;
Institute of Physics and Institute of Molecular and
Atomic Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus.
Many leading universities and research centers in various
countries are also among the long-term partners of the
GPWP Chair and the ILC. Those include Princeton University,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Dayton University,
Pennsylvania University, US Army Research Laboratory,
SINEMED Inc. (USA); Essen, Wurzburg, Berlin, and Bonn
Universities, as well as Max Planck Institute for Quantum
Optics and Berlin Center for Laser Medicine (Germany);
International Laser Center in Bratislava and Comensky
University (Slovak Republic); Palermo, Pisa, Milan,
Bari, and Turin Universities, "La Sapienza" University
in Rome, ENEA and IROE Research Centers, Istituto Nazionale
di Ottica, and the International Center for Theoretical
Physics in Trieste (Italy); Toronto University and Laval
University (Canada); Universities of Bath and Southampton
and Imperial College (UK); Bordeaux and Dunkerque Universities
(France); Waseda University and the National Laboratory
of Mechanics (Japan); Yonsay University (Republic of
Korea); University of Twente (the Netherlands); and
many others.

The following prominent scientists and outstanding
personalities were with the GPWP Chair in the previous
years: ·Professor R.L. Stratonovich (1931 - 1997), the
worldwide-recognized scientist, Lomonosov and State
Prize winner, the founder of statistical radio physics
and quantum theory of information, the author of pioneering
works on nonequilibrium thermodynamics, who developed
stochastic methods in classical and quantum statistical
physics and the theory of measurements; · Professor V.S. Fursov (1915 - 1998), one of the
leading researchers involved in the Kurchatov project,
the winner of three State Prizes, the Dean of the Physics
Department of Moscow State University in 1956 - 1989;
· Associate Professor A.I. Kovrigin (1936 - 1996),
the author of many pioneering experiments on nonlinear
optics, who created the first parametric oscillator
generating picosecond pulses, the State Prize winner.

The following Physics Department senior staff members
stemmed from the Chair of General Physics and Wave Processes: O.V. Rudenko, Correspondent Member of the Russian
Academy of Sciences; A.P. Sukhorukov, Professor; V.A. Aleshkevich, Professor; V.E. Kunitsyn,
Professor. The teaching and research staff of the Chair
of General Physics and Wave Processes now includes highly
qualified and widely recognized experts, as well as
bright personalities. More than 60 Doctors and Candidates (PhD) of Sciences are among the staff
members of this chair.